


Color Me Intrigued

by smore13



Category: NCT (Band), SuperM (Korea Band), WayV (Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Alternate Universe - Idols, Awkward Kim Namjoon | RM, Backstage, Canon Compliant, First Meetings, Flirty Ten, Good Leader Kim Namjoon | RM, Idols, Kim Namjoon | RM & Jackson Wang are Best Friends, Kim Namjoon | RM-centric, Liu Yang Yang is a Menace, M/M, MAMA 2019, Meet-Cute, Mentioned BTS Member(s), Mentioned Jung Hoseok | J-Hope, Mentioned Kim Jongin | Kai, Mentioned Lee Taemin, Mentioned Min Yoongi | Suga, Mentioned SuperM Ensemble, Mentioned WayV Ensemble, Mentioned Xiao De Jun | Xiao Jun, Park Jimin is a collector of men, Strangers to Lovers, idolverse, minor Lucas/Jimin, out here inventing ships, queer idols
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-28
Updated: 2020-01-28
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:35:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22445710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smore13/pseuds/smore13
Summary: “-and oh my god, when Lucas was speaking Korean, you heard it too right?” the one in the headband facing Namjoon, was saying as he burst into near hysterical laughter.“Yes!  Oh my god, and Kun totally froze next to me, why did we all think he was cursing?” the other boy, with his back to Namjoon agreed, breaking out into high pitched giggles of his own. “Well… not cursing but you know…”“I totally thought he said something else,” the boy in the headband said, still laughing. “Can you imagine? Leave it to the foreigners to accidentally say something dirty on live-”The boy paused, glancing straight over his bandmate’s head and directly at Namjoon, who belatedly realized he was staring.  He felt his mouth form into a little ‘o’ of surprise just as the other boy noticed the shift in his companion’s attention.Following his member’s gaze, the closer boy slowly turned to look over his left shoulder, trying to figure out what had caught the other’s eye.  A few strands of his black hair fell from his quiff and Namjoon found himself tracking the movement first to his eyes, then down the slope of his perfect nose and finally landing on lightly glossed lips.Oh no.  He was pretty.
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Kim Namjoon | RM, Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas/Park Jimin
Comments: 24
Kudos: 209





	Color Me Intrigued

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Have a WayV/BTS crossover ship no one asked for!  
> I thought about naming this 'Oh MAMA' and going but...  
> Lol I started writing this in the middle of my hybrid fic, then got distracted from it by my nahyuck fic, only to come back to it after I finished both.  
> I wanted WayV/BTS interaction from MAMA 2019 and instead we got jack shit T_T but I was talking to my friends about possible SuperM/BTS interactions, found out that Jimin was close to Taemin and Kai, so obviously I immediately started picturing the most fun ships from those groups.  
> My friend said that Ten flustering Namjoon would be everything and honestly, I agree so here we are!

“How long are they holding us hostage for, hyung?” Taehyung murmured into Namjoon’s ear, barely loud enough to be heard over the din of the backstage area. The leader turned to observe the younger man, eyebrow raised in mild reproach. The other boy simply looked back at him, expression carefully blank - if the slightest bit bored - one hand placed casually in his pocket.

“I think there are still a few more groups,” Namjoon answered noncommittally, glancing around in an attempt to take stock of his members. Besides Taehyung, Jin and Jungkook were both hovering nearby, while Jimin and Hoseok had wandered farther away, chatting with the TXT kids and a few other passing artists. He’d totally lost sight of Yoongi but he imagined (at least he hoped) he’d wander back soon enough.

When he finally looked back, Tae was fixing him with an arguably judgemental look before finally huffing out a sigh.

“Alright, alright, I get it,” he said in an admirably even tone before moving to engage JK in conversation instead.

Namjoon let him go without comment. He understood the impatience, he really did. It had been a long show as it was, and now all they had left to do was wait for their turn for their final ‘Thank You’ stage, as well as a few brief recap interviews before they were finally free to go. 

He even understood the reason for the slight judgement. Taehyung knew as well as Namjoon that they did not  _ need _ to be waiting. It was a good faith move on their part - on his part technically. As leader he was essentially the final authority on matters such as these.

If he had decided to mention to the event planners that their group would prefer to make a quick exit following the end of the ceremony, it would have easily been arranged.

Rushed transport, first priority for final interviews, bada-bing bada-boom - back to the hotel before you could say ‘thank you, army’.

It still didn’t feel right, though, using their power that way. There were certainly times where it was worth throwing their weight around but they had nowhere special to be tonight and Namjoon genuinely believed that it would behoove them not to purposefully separate themselves from the regular system or the rest of the idols to that degree.

He knew Taehyung wasn’t actually upset. They were all just tired and a little done. It would all be over soon enough. Besides, they’d spent most of the night standing up and receiving awards. That wasn’t exactly something they would ever be in a position to complain about. They could certainly stand to hang around for a bit longer and show their appreciation.

Plus it gave the group a chance to interact with some of their fellow idols, all of whom so rarely got a chance to catch up, what with everyone’s insane schedules. Speaking of which, he had greeted GOT7 in passing earlier in the night but he should probably get around to connecting with Jackson for real before they took off or he’s sure he’d never hear the end of it from his friend.

Namjoon glanced down the long hallway that lead out to the interview stages. He could just make out the group that was currently completing their own post show speech. They were all in black, and he wasn’t standing nearly close enough to actually hear any of what they were saying but he was fairly certain it was the Chinese group that had taken the Best New Artist.

Their management team had quickly briefed them on all of the noteworthy artists ahead of their appearance, in case of interview prompts or possible interactions but he had to admit, this particular group seemed to have an exceedingly complicated formation story and he’d be damned if he could be bothered to get it straight.

Before that night, the biggest connection he remembered was Jackson mentioning a Hong Kong member who he was interested in getting close to, though he wasn’t sure which one he was.

Namjoon had been rather impressed that evening, though, when upon winning, the group proceeded to make their acceptance speech in like 4 languages. He was pretty sure multiple members spoke fairly fluent English (must be nice), as well as Chinese and he supposed Korean. That was always the benefit of adding foreign members, he supposed. Or, in this case, since they were promoting in China, maybe they weren’t foreigners. Either way.

“Not feeling very sociable tonight?” came a friendly voice from over Namjoon’s left shoulder, accompanied by a firm pat on his right. He glanced back to see Jin grinning up at him.

Joon made a somewhat noncommittal noise, turning to face his hyung fully.

“Just focusing on getting through the interviews and getting out of here,” he agreed mildly. Jin hummed thoughtfully, grin still firmly in place.

“Well, we already greeted Park Jinyoung  _ sunbaenim _ ,” he mused teasingly, “so I suppose you’re safe. Don’t feel like gracing any of the hoobaes with your presence?”

“Hyuuung, stop. Don’t say it like that,” Namjoon complained with a rueful smile. If this was how Jin had decided he was going to keep himself entertained while they waited, he was going to be in trouble.

“No, I get it,” Jin continued, tone wholly mischievous, “Winners feel like they don’t have to associate with lesser plebeians.”

“I’m begging you, don’t start,” Namjoon complained sounding pained, though unable to fully lose his grin. “It’ll be just our luck for someone to overhear you and think you’re being serious.”

“I  _ do _ have a reputation for being extremely rude and difficult to work with,” Jin reasoned with his brightest, tv presenter smile. Namjoon’s grin widened, bumping the older man with his shoulder lightly.

“I remember hearing that,” he agreed, pretending to sound thoughtful.

“Hyung, we’ll be over there, I see some friends,” Jungkook called out, drawing their attention.

“Don’t go far, and don’t miss-”

“We’ll be back, we’ll be back,” Taehyung assured him, pushing JK toward a group of younger idols - probably 97 line - nearby.

Namjoon sighed to himself, muttering a few words of complaint as he turned back to Jin, only to find he had been pulled into a conversation with one of their staff.

So instead he turned his attention back to the busy hallway where they waited.

The Chinese group had finally finished their interview, replaced by one of the girl groups (who could only be Mamamoo based on the neon, which was just about the only thing he could make out from this distance).

He glanced over to see that the previous group milling around nearby - he was wracking his brain for their name now, he felt like a bit of a jerk for forgetting. The longer he was in the industry the more he understood having to keep introducing himself to the same seniors over and over as a rookie.

There were seven of them as well, all in black from their performance earlier. They were scattered around the hallway, chatting amongst themselves, as well as with a few of the other acts. 

The two nearest him seemed to be chattering and bickering excitedly in English. He couldn’t help but listen in.

“-and oh my god, when Lucas was speaking Korean, you heard it too right? We both started laughing and so did Xiaojun,” the one in the headband facing Namjoon, was saying as he burst into near hysterical laughter.

“Yes! Oh my god, and Kun totally froze next to me, why did we all think he was cursing?” the other boy, with his back to Namjoon agreed, breaking out into high pitched giggles of his own. “Well… not  _ cursing _ but you know…”

“I totally thought he said something else,” the boy in the headband said, still laughing. “Can you imagine? Leave it to the foreigners to accidentally say something dirty on live-”

The boy paused, glancing straight over his bandmate’s head and directly at Namjoon, who belatedly realized he was staring. He felt his mouth form into a little ‘o’ of surprise just as the other boy noticed the shift in his companion’s attention.

Following his member’s gaze, the closer boy slowly turned to look over his left shoulder, trying to figure out what had caught the other’s eye. A few strands of his black hair fell from his quiff and Namjoon found himself tracking the movement first to his eyes, then down the slope of his perfect nose and finally landing on lightly glossed lips.

Oh no. He was pretty.

Namjoon’s gaze returned to the boy’s eyes and for the briefest moment none of them moved. Suddenly, however, the boys seemed to recognize who he was and that they appeared to have caught his attention.

The pretty black haired boy instantly turned his entire body until he was facing Namjoon fully, glancing at his group member before bowing deeply. The boy in the headband followed suit but it was the black haired boy’s unexpected proximity that startled Namjoon, who instinctively jumped back upon realizing he suddenly had a head precariously close to his crotch.

He felt himself bump someone and immediately recognized Jin’s amused laughter. The older man put a reassuring hand on Namjoon’s shoulder but he was sure Jin was wearing an unabashedly teasing grin. He didn’t bother to check though, still watching as the boy in front of him straightened up, wearing an expression that was halfway between aghast and determined.

“Sunbaenim, sorry for not greeting you, we didn’t realize you were there,” he said in rapid Korean, bowing deeply once more, still close enough to make Namjoon want to retreat but he was held firmly in place by Jin behind him. “We didn’t mean to bother you. I’m WayV’s Ten…”

He paused, glancing back at his group member, raising his eyebrows and nodding subtly for him to speak.

“And, uh, I’m WayV’s Yangyang,” the boy in the headband added, also in Korean, smiling brightly with another, smaller bow. He looked over at the black haired boy once more, who was still looking at him expectantly. “It’s nice to meet you,” Yangyang added cautiously. This seemed to satisfy the boy in front of Namjoon.

“Congratulations on the awards, by the way,” the black haired boy - Ten? - said politely, still in Korean. He offered them a warm smile. “It was well deserved!”

“Thank you, thank you!” Jin boomed, leaning over Namjoon’s shoulder with a charming smile. “Yes, it’s nice to meet you. And don’t worry about it - we’re just here waiting to be called for final interviews~”

He gave Namjoon’s shoulder a squeeze, shooting him a knowing grin before adding, “Great to meet you but if you’ll excuse me…”

With that, Jin promptly disappeared, leaving Namjoon looking down at the two boys in front of him in what he hoped wasn’t awkward silence. They returned his look, a bit expectant, and Namjoon did his best to put on his friendly award show senior persona.

“So…” he started, grasping for an appropriate follow up. “Your Korean is really good.”

Namjoon tried not to cringe at his own comment, simply watching the teasing smile that quirked up at the corner of the pretty boy’s mouth before he seemed to catch himself and reset his expression to one of careful politeness before an important sunbae.

Namjoon found himself wondering how he might lure the teasing grin back out again.

“Well yes, I’ve been living in Korea since 2013, so I’ve had a lot of practice,” Ten answered diplomatically, with just the barest hint of amusement. Namjoon grinned far too enthusiastically for the circumstances, probably, but he couldn’t be bothered enough to actually care.

“Ten hyung’s Korean is really good,” Yangyang confirmed solemnly, pausing for a moment for the implication of his own comparative skill level to sink in before adding with a mischievous look at the older boy, “Much better than his Chinese.”

Ten shot him a thinly veiled warning look, glancing back at Namjoon apologetically. For his part, Namjoon was entirely unbothered, groping for the best way to relay this, preferably in a way that would keep the conversation going.

“Well I don’t speak Chinese and it sounds like your Korean is better than my English,” he offered, switching to English now that he realized that it might be more comfortable for at least one of the boys. They started to protest politely, also in English but Namjoon merely pressed on, voicing a true curiosity, “Is your name really Ten, by the way?”

He felt that could probably be worded better but his English felt a little clumsy after days without much use outside of the carefully crafted media catchphrase here and there, so he’d take what he could get at this point.

“Yeah, he’s Ten. Ten like the number,” Yangyang answered immediately, smiling brightly over at Ten who seemed to be summoning the patience not to go off on him in mixed company.

“It’s not a stage name, if that’s what you mean,” Ten said, turning to face Namjoon fully with just a hint of amusement. That  _ was _ what Namjoon meant and he wasn’t sure why he was so pleased with this development. Other than positive attention from a pretty boy. That was usually enough for him. On a good day, anyway.

“Ten is my real name but it’s also a nickname, kinda,” the other boy continued, cocking his head thoughtfully. “My  _ real _ real name is long and kinda hard to say-”

He was interrupted by Yangyang promptly spitting out almost a dozen syllables in rapid succession that Namjoon had absolutely no hope of catching. He looked helplessly between the two shorter boys (they were so tiny, what were they so  _ tiny _ for?) wondering if he was  _ supposed _ to have been able to remember that or…

Ten clenched his jaw tightly in mild annoyance for a moment, still looking straight into Namjoon’s eyes (probably to ensure he didn’t glare around at Yangyang but that didn’t make Namjoon want to squirm any less), before inhaling a deep calming breath through his nose. He released it, returning to smiling politely as he continued,

“Right. Because I’m Thai so our names are kind of complicated. Even my family calls me Ten most of the time.”

“Oh, like Bambam from…” Namjoon trailed off, trying not to grin too broadly as Ten was already nodding solemnly.

“That’s right,” he confirmed smartly.

“And I don’t have a long complicated name, but my real name  _ is _ Yangyang,” the younger boy piped up brightly. “Like sheep. Twice. Sheepsheep.”

Ten couldn’t stop himself this time from turning to give Yangyang a very pointed look.

“What?” Yangyang asked feigning innocence and Ten only narrowed his eyes and tilted his head almost imperceptibly (almost) toward their company.

Namjoon worked again to suppress a grin. He was fairly certain that Ten wouldn’t usually mind Yangyang’s silly English conversation at all but since this was  _ BTS _ . He couldn’t think of any casual way to reassure them so he decided to keep quiet for now and let them work it out amongst themselves.

Ten said something in Mandarin, which Namjoon of course couldn’t understand, but if he were to make an educated guess, was something like ‘Can you please stop acting weird in front the the big senior?’

Yangyang looked like he was debating coming back with a snide comment but in the end he simply closed his mouth with a smile before turning to Namjoon.

“I need to go talk to Kun-ge now so…” Yangyang announced brightly in English, as if he might know who that was (he assumed it was a member of course, but still), bowing deeply again. “It was nice to meet you! Congratulations again!”

With that, along with a brief but rather victorious looking smirk at Ten, Yangyang was off, leaving just the two of them in debatably awkward silence.

“Sorry about…” Ten started, gesturing vaguely in the direction Yangyang had left. Namjoon waited a beat for him to finish but it seemed as if he’d given up in the end. With his fellow member gone, Ten suddenly appeared a bit more nervous. He laced his fingers together in front of him and shifted his weight from one foot to the other a few times before finally settling, still looking at Namjoon but rather than making direct eye contact, it seemed like his gaze was focused somewhere around his forehead. Just a bit shy.

Oh shit, that was cute.

“Don’t worry about it,” Namjoon replied smoothly with a bright smile. “Kids can be tough.”

This earned him an amused (if somewhat derisive) snort which Namjoon took as a good sign to push on with the conversation.

“Are you the leader too?” he asked, noting that Ten seemed loosen up slightly, closer to the level of polite comfort from before Yangyang’s sudden departure. He tried not to feel too proud of himself for this development.

An entirely horrified look crossed Ten’s features for less than a second before he schooled them into something closer to amusement.

“No, thank God,” he said sunnily with a sweet eye smile that made Namjoon feel some type of way, though he wasn’t quite sure why until Ten continued.

“Our leader is Kun, the one with pink hair,” the other boy explained breezily, gesturing over his shoulder without really looking. It was easy enough for Namjoon to spot him however, talking to Yangyang and a few other boys in black pleather. He was short too. Did this whole group have an upper height limit?

“He’s much more of a ‘leader type’ than I am,” Ten continued, smile turning more mischievous. “Especially considering I probably give him just as much trouble as Yangyang. In a different way~”

There it was. Namjoon felt his stomach flip flop in a way that would have been embarrassing if it weren’t also so invigorating. He didn’t dedicate very much of his time to flirting so he’d take what he could get. Not that Ten was necessarily flirting with  _ him _ . Yet.

“I didn’t take you for the bratty type,” Namjoon breathed, not sure if he was telling the whole truth but it was worth it to see the knowing look that settled in Ten’s eye and the return of that teasing grin. He paused, glancing back at the pink haired leader, then down at Ten. “So you like to give him a hard time, huh? Are you two… close?”

There was something about being a queer idol in such a controlled industry that trained you to ask certain questions, give extra meaning to certain gestures, take note of what might otherwise be construed as a throwaway quirk of the eyebrow, stress of a word. The hets didn’t know to look for it, so if it went unanswered there was no loss to mourn, no fallout to fear.

But when it was reciprocated, well… then you knew you’d found one of your own.

So when Ten paused to search his expression, Namjoon gave him what he hoped was a meaningful look, shifting toward him almost imperceptibly.

He didn’t think he imagined the moment of realization and watched as the corners of Ten’s mouth turned slightly down, then up, then back down again as regarded Namjoon seriously.

“We’re definitely close but maybe not in the way you think,” Ten said, tone rather diplomatic, finally settling on a wry smile.

“What way do I think?” Namjoon asked innocently, finally being able to put his finger on Ten’s accent in English - he kind of sounded like someone from Harry Potter. If Harry Potter were sexy and Asian. God help him.

Ten had the nerve to roll his eyes at this (where was the shy Ten from a few minutes ago exactly?), shooting him a look that Namjoon read as ‘are we really going to play this game?’. Namjoon only smiled, doubling down. Ten sighed heavily, then smiled conspiratorially. He leaned forward, raising himself up onto his tip toes like he had a secret.

“You know boy friends?” he asked in a stage whisper. “In English there are boyfriends and boy |space| friends. Me and Kun have a space between us.”

He settled back down on his feet, looking pleased with himself.

“Well that… that does answer my question, yes,” Namjoon managed, trying not to look around suspiciously. He supposed they were a bit safer, speaking English at least.

“What about you then?” Ten pushed on, seeming to take a bit too much pleasure in Namjoon’s mild discomfort. “Are you  _ close _ with anyone?”

Namjoon took a look around under the guise of checking on his members. None of his staff or Ten's members seemed to be paying them any special attention and his own members seemed to be decidedly occupied, aside from Jimin who caught his eye with a curious look that turned a little knowing after a moment. Of course it would be Jimin, lord help him. 

Still he felt safe enough to turn back to Ten with a bit of determination. 

"As of this moment… I guess I'm pretty close to you," he tried, taking a half a step closer, leaning in in a way that should look like he was trying to hear Ten better over the noise in the hallway to everyone but the man himself.

He wasn't sure if this was a little smooth or entirely pathetic but Ten didn't move away. 

In fact, he arched an eyebrow, taking a moment to look Namjoon over as if he were reevaluating him given new information. At least Namjoon hoped that was the case. 

He couldn't be sure, however, because it was at that moment that he found himself being grappled at by a far too overly enthusiastic Jimin.

Wonderful. 

"What's up, hyung? Who ya talking to?" the younger boy asked, slinging his arm comfortably over Namjoon’s shoulder but his gaze was fixed on Ten, who had taken a few quick steps back.

“Sunbaenim, nice to meet you. I’m WayV’s Ten,” he said in clipped Korean, bowing deeply once more. Namjoon felt like he could see the shyness reclaim him with the sudden presence of another new industry senior. “Congratulations on your-”

“Thanks! I’m Jimin, how old are you?” Jimin interrupted, sounding far too amused for Namjoon’s liking.

“Jimin-ah,” he warned, turning to shoot the younger boy a look to which he only got an innocent smile in return.

“No, it’s okay,” Ten answered, smiling (a bit stiffly in Namjoon’s opinion) between the two of them. “I’m 24 years old. Korean age.”

“96? I’m older than you, then. You’re close with Namjoon hyung, right? Call me hyung.” Jimin demanded sweetly. Ten shot Namjoon a wary glance before smiling weakly.

“Um, okay,” he answered. There was a pause where Jimin continued to smile at him expectantly until Ten belatedly added, “Hyung.”

“Is there something that you  _ need _ , Jimin-ah?” Namjoon asked, trying to keep the sharpness from his tone. He was fairly certain that Jimin had come over with an ulterior motive, aside from just teasing him. He just wasn’t sure what it was yet.

“I saw you mingling with the new blood and I wanted to join,” Jimin replied all wide eyes and fake sincerity. He turned his gaze back on Ten. “You’re from that Chinese group right? You won Best New Artist, congrats!”

“Uh, Best New Asian Artist, yes,” Ten corrected politely, gesturing to where half of their members and the TXT kids stood, “your label mates won Best-”

“Right, right, right. But still, it’s impressive!” Jimin pressed on impatiently. Namjoon was about to strangle him if he kept interrupting Ten like that. Kids. “And I really enjoyed your performance stage. Your concept is really interesting. Plus, 7 members is perfect for an airplane/flying concept. I almost wish we had thought of that.”

“That’s very flattering of you to say,” Ten replied shyly, causing Jimin to grin and Namjoon to force down a coo. 

There, at least they could have some nice shop talk. Namjoon had seen the group’s performance, of course, but he regretted not paying as much attention as he might have done. These award shows were so long, it was easy to just sort of tune everything out and kind of bob along to the music after a while. If Jimin was impressed, it would have definitely been worth watching. If he had noticed Ten earlier he would have certainly been hooked.

“Actually, I know you’re rookies but I feel like you look really familiar,” Jimin continued, looking Ten over thoughtfully. “That’s why I came over actually. I don’t think we’ve met though…”

Ten held very still under the other boy’s gaze, polite smile fixed in place.

“Not… directly, no. I don’t think so,” Ten agreed.

“Mutual friends?” Jimin asked curiously.

“I… sort of? I-  _ we _ are technically under SM Entertainment. Lucas and I, we’re… we recently debuted under another group,” Ten trailed off, motioning toward one of the other boys in matching black pleather. This one was a giant, probably even taller than Namjoon (he probably skewed their group’s whole height curve by a substantial degree) and ridiculously handsome. He looked a bit familiar to Namjoon as well for some reason. Jimin followed the gesture, eyes lighting up as he got a load of the boy in question.

“Ah! I remember now! Avengers!” he declared excitedly, to Namjoon’s confusion and Ten’s mild embarrassment. “How could I forget? You’re even dressed the part. Do you mind introducing us?”

“Not at all,” Ten murmured, a little red around the ears. Namjoon debated jumping in to save him from Jimin’s attentions but he had to admit he was enjoying watching the pretty boy squirm just a little. Plus, he was learning more. Win-win. 

“Lucas? Can you come here?” Ten called loud enough that the tall boy perked up at his name, but the rest of the members didn’t break from their various conversations. Namjoon noted the wicked glint in his member’s eye as the handsome boy made to approach, appearing delightfully curious. Jimin had a habit of collecting as many notably tall, handsome, popular male idols as he could get his hands on, so Namjoon couldn’t say he was surprised by his  _ enthusiasm _ . He caught Jimin’s eye with a knowing smirk of his own, which seemed to fluster the younger boy just enough that he turned his attention back on Ten.

“So you’re in the group with Jongin and Taemin hyungs, right? That’s where I recognized you from,” Jimin said, tone friendly, smile widening slightly as Lucas joined them. “Both of you~”

“You know Taemin hyung and Jongin hyung?” Lucas asked excitedly, before seeming to remember himself. He bowed to both of them before adding, “I’m WayV’s Lucas. Ten hyung might have already mentioned. Nice to meet you, sunbaenim.”

“Call me hyung,” Jimin all but purred, which even had Ten shooting Namjoon a barely veiled look of amusement. Lucas laughed, a friendly, loud, if a little bashful affair.

“Okay hyung,” he said easily. “Uh, I don’t speak Korean very well but I hope you’ll take care of me.”

“We could speak English if it’s easier,” Namjoon jumped in, in English before Jimin decided to eat him whole in front of the entire backstage. His member shot him a resentful look, which Ten seemed to find amusing. Lucas, for his part, seemed unperturbed.

“Actually, I understand it okay but I’m not that great at English either,” he answered, still in Korean. “Ten hyung’s the language expert.”

“You speak Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean, and a little English,” Ten argued affectionately. “We’re practically even.” Lucas waved him off impatiently.

“I wasn’t chosen for my language abilities,” Lucas announced firmly in Korean before adding something in Chinese that set Ten laughing surprisingly hard. Namjoon raised a curious eyebrow while Jimin tried not to pout at being left out of the fun.

“I’m sorry, that just caught me by surprise” Ten said, with a wide grin when he’d finally caught his breath. “Lucas said… well he basically said ‘who cares if I can’t communicate for shit when I look like this?’”

Namjoon let out a surprised chuckle while Jimin looked back at Lucas like he’d just won the lottery.

“Is that how you ended up in the super group?” he asked teasingly, all but beaming when Lucas merely smiled and agreed.

Jimin seemed poised to continue, language barrier be damned when a loud friendly voice cut through the din, catching their attention,

“Namjoon-ah!”

All four of them collectively turned to see a bright, relaxed looking Jackson making his way through the crowd. He paused to greet someone who put a hand on his shoulder but quickly excused himself, eyes locked on Namjoon determinedly.

For his part, Namjoon grinned, trying not to roll his eyes halfheartedly. He loved Jackson and he felt bad that they never seemed to be able to spend enough time together but now was not the moment he wanted to dedicate to a catching up conversation.

He raised his hand to meet Jackson’s over Jimin’s head, shaking it and bringing him in for a bro hug.

“Jackson Wang, long time no see,” he said in Korean, patting his friend on the back.

“Kim Namjoon, the man of the hour,” Jackson replied in Korean with a grin, before adding in English, “Congrats, man. You deserve it, always.”

“Hey, what about me?” Jimin demanded, hands on his hips. He was obviously teasing but Namjoon knew he secretly couldn’t bear to be left out of the compliment. He used his friend’s distraction to step away, moving subtly (he hoped) back into Ten’s space.

“Oh, Park Jimin! I didn’t see you there. Oh course, you’re all the men of the hour. Our big winners,” Jackson teased. He made to move between Namjoon and Jimin when he suddenly noticed their two guests.

“Lucas! Long time no see!” he cried in Korean before immediately switching to rapid fire Chinese. Lucas smiled shyly, greeting him in turn. They watched as Jackson went in for a hug, parking himself beside Lucas instead and they continued conversing casually entirely in Chinese.

“What are they saying?” Jimin asked after a minute, leaning over to Ten conspiratorially.

“I have no clue,” Ten answered with a shrug, then seemed to remember himself, adding politely, “Because they’re speaking Cantonese.”

Jimin looked incredibly disappointed by this, moving to lean heavily on Jackson’s shoulder, gaze fixed on Lucas.

“Speak Korean!” he complained. “Stop hogging your friend, we were talking before.”

Jackson conceded, moving to make room for Jimin in their little circle, filling Jimin in about some of the things he’d been asking Lucas. For his part, Lucas looked a little overwhelmed by all the attention, but he seemed to be enjoying himself well enough.

Namjoon watched with a small smirk, turning to see Ten observing the chaos with a matching expression.

Eventually Ten seemed to notice his staring, turned to face him with a look that was equal parts knowing and mischievous. Namjoon suspected he shouldn't enjoy that look so much. 

He took the opportunity to lean down, close to Ten's ear to ask quietly in English, 

"So is he also..?"

He let the question trail off with another meaningful look.

Ten turned his head to look at Namjoon directly, eyes glittering with mirth. 

"You sound so straight," Ten shot back quietly with a small chuckle, "'Are they… you know…'."

Namjoon thought he might have made a hand gesture to go with his teasing but he was too busy noticing how nice he smelled, probably a mixture of his cologne and hair products with just a tinge of sweat from performing earlier. 

It wasn't until Ten hummed contemplatively to himself that Namjoon realized just how close their faces still were. 

He immediately straightened up, in a way he belatedly realized was probably too abrupt and awkward. He hoped nobody was paying them close attention.

"You know," Ten said thoughtfully, crossing his arms as he looked Namjoon over appraisingly, eyes finally landing on his lips. "You're really handsome up close. Even more than I thought."

Namjoon cleared his throat loudly, causing Ten to meet his eyes again in clear amusement. Namjoon could be straightforward about a lot of things but blatant compliments from cute boys threw him 100% off. 

"So," he said, still far too loud. "KPOP Avengers, huh? That's cool. That's… how's that?"

Ten smirked but thankfully had mercy on him. 

"It's really interesting working with other big industry seniors from the same company," he answered diplomatically, and for a moment Namjoon wondered if he was getting an interview answer until the other man smiled a little shyly, adding, "I still get a little nervous around them. I know I shouldn't - we're a team - but I've looked up to some of them for so long."

Namjoon was melting again. How could he possibly be feeling so warmly towards a boy he just met?

"It's a pretty genius concept," Namjoon offered with a smile. He was slightly more familiar with the super band concept than the details of WayV. "They were smart to lean into the super hero comparison. It seems like the media eats it up."

"We even have 'super' in the name," Ten added brightly. 

"So which avenger are you? I'm sure they've ask y'all a million times already."

"They've asked a few times," Ten agreed, grinning. "I never actually settled on one. I tried to get casted instead."

They both chuckled at this. 

"For Marvel I really like Deadpool but he's not really an avenger," Ten continued, scrunching his nose up adorably as he thought. He looked up at Namjoon once more. "Who do you think I would be?"

Namjoon took the opportunity to let his eyes rake over him fully, from his face down over his black pleather clad form and back. 

"Black Widow," he blurted out, physically cringing as soon as he did. "I mean! Mostly because of the outfit probably - not because look like the actress or anything. Well, I mean not that it wouldn't be a compliment, she's super hot and you're- that is- plus! you're good at dancing so you'd probably look good doing her fight scenes even if you don't have red hair and… I'll- I'll stop talking now."

Ten merely looked thoughtful, gazing up at Namjoon seriously. 

"I could see that, I think," he allowed solemnly, but Namjoon noticed the corners of his lips turn up ever so slightly. "I mean, I  _ am _ really flexible. I accidentally kicked myself in the back of the head during the trampoline pictures from our jacket shoot…"

Namjoon was pretty sure the appropriate response to this statement would be to laugh it off, but the only sound that came out of his mouth was a rather pathetic choke. 

He watched as Ten's gaze turned a little predatory, like he was considering sinking his talons into him. 

Namjoon's stomach flip-flopped.

"Can we get Bangtan on call?" came the sharp cry of one of the award show staff nearby, making eye contact with Namjoon and then looking around for their own staff. "Two minutes until Thank You stage."

Ten smiled in understanding at the apologetic look Namjoon shot him, leaning over to grab Jimin - who was still entirely engrossed in his conversation - by the shoulder. 

"Can you go gather everyone together?" he asked in a way that left little room for argument. He had to stop himself from turning to get a better look at the interested expression Ten was sporting from the corner of his eye. 

Jimin made a face for a split second but did as he was told, only after taking another moment to say sugary sweet goodbyes to Lucas and extremely lukewarm ones to Jackson. 

"I'll snag you after," Jackson said to Namjoon who merely nodded. He looked around doing a headcount. 

Yoongi thankfully  _ had _ wandered back at some point during his conversation, now standing next to Jin, and he saw the staff and Jimin rounding up Hoseok and the maknaes. 

"Uh, that's our cue I guess," Namjoon said, turning back to Ten, feeling a little awkward about ending things so suddenly. He didn't think he wanted this to be the end. 

Ten was moving in before he could decide what else to say. 

"Wait, hold still. You're twisted," Ten stepped forward, reaching out to straighten the layered chains that draped across his midsection in place of a vest. Once he was satisfied, Ten turned his attention on his collar, reaching up to fix that as well. 

"There," he said with a small smile. Without thinking Namjoon reached up to grab one of his hands, squeezing it to his chest lightly before letting it drop. Ten's smile widened. 

"Why don't you-" Namjoon started looking around, hoping to get the attention of one of his staff. One of the easier things about being into guys was that nobody really thought twice about you exchanging numbers. "We have to go but if you just give your info to one of our managers, or…"

He wasn't catching anyone's eye, the staff all too preoccupied with getting them in position. They'd be rounding on him soon.

"I have social media," Ten offered sweetly. "I have a verified Instagram."

"Perfect," Namjoon replied in relief. "Yeah, just uh, just message our group's official account and I can get your info from there."

"Okay~" Ten replied with another pretty smile. "Well what are you waiting for? Go, go."

Namjoon shook his head, grinning ruefully as he made his way over to join his members. Jimin was grinning at him teasingly and Jin looked a little knowing but none of the others seemed to notice his delay. 

He spent the rest of the ending interviews in a slightly distracted daze. Once they made it back inside he was predictably corralled by Jackson, who he happily engaged in conversation (though not before noticing that WayV seemed to have disappeared).

Once they were finally making their way back to the vans, Namjoon pulled their manager aside to ask after their Instagram account. He made the man promise to relay to the social media team that he was expecting a message. 

By the time he climbed into the last remaining van, it was just Jimin and Jungkook waiting for him, sitting in the back scrolling on their phones. 

JK greeted him as he clambered into the middle. 

Jimin however, waited for Namjoon to get situated before pouncing, leaning forward to throw his arms over the back of his seat. 

"Congrats, hyung. You bagged a center, and I bagged a visual," he said quietly, almost conspiratorially.

Namjoon snorted at this. 

"You got their number?" he asked, smirking with amusement when Jimin's face fell slightly. 

"I didn't have time," the younger boy complained but perked up again almost instantly. "I know Jackson hyung has it. Give me his number so I can get it from him!"

Namjoon waved him off impatiently, 

"Later, later. Remind me in the morning."

Jimin looked poised to argue but was cut off by a sharp poke to the ass by JK, who up until then had been paying them next to no attention. 

Jimin screeched (RIP Namjoon's ear drums), falling back in his seat with loud complaints, turning his attention on bullying a giggling Jungkook. 

Namjoon rolled his eyes at their antics, buckling up as their manager pulled onto the road. 

He settled down into his chair, popping in his earphones and pulling up YouTube on his phone. 

He was still curious, so he typed in 'ten super' into the search bar (SuperM that was it. Why couldn't he remember that?) and clicked on the recommended search. 

The first two results were his solo teaser and a 'performance video' with Taemin and Kai. For the purposes of plausible deniability, just in case Jimin decided to come back for round two of trying to tease him, Namjoon clicked on the performance one. 

He was immediately met with a close up of Ten's face, looking just as unfairly pretty as ever. Then suddenly there was the ghost of a beat and there he was spelling his own name with his body and there was a jazzy, smooth breakdown as he danced and Namjoon… well he was interested to say the least. 

He wondered if it was Ten singing and he wondered if he had any hand in producing and he wondered if he worked on choreographing the dance. 

He sat back with a smile playing across his lips, watching Ten dancing to the sound of his own name and wondered and wondered and wondered. 

**Author's Note:**

> ...I got VERY self indulgent there at the end, but honestly I love fics that go on and on about how amazing Ten is (is my bias showing?) so I figured other people might be willing to put up with it too lol.  
> Honestly, I will pair Ten with any hot person who looks at him twice (or in this case, not even at all!), so I'm constantly looking up interesting pairings for him.  
> AND I WANT MORE TEN/TAEMIN CONTENT DAMMIT! With all the material Taemin be giving us and like 4 fics exist T_T come on people lol  
> Slip into my dm's to recommend lol  
> And on that note, lol, let me know what you thought!  
> I love hearing from people~  
> [twt](https://twitter.com/stephaech?s=09)  
> [cc](https://curiouscat.me/smore13)


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